Groundhog strike forces red flag, extensive FW48 damage in Montreal
During Friday’s only 60-minute practice for the Canadian Grand Prix sprint weekend in Montreal, Alex Albon’s Williams struck a groundhog (also described as a marmot) on the exit of Turn 6.
The impact sent Albon’s car into a wall and forced the practice session to be red-flagged.
The crash prompted a lengthy red-flag stoppage at about the half-hour mark of FP1.
The incident cost the team more than half of the 60-minute session (more than half an hour of track time).
The FIA extended FP1: it had already added four minutes after Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls car breakdown and then lengthened the session by a further 15 minutes because of Albon’s crash.
Williams confirmed Albon was unable to avoid the animal and emerged uninjured; Albon walked away from the wreck and no injuries were reported.
Williams team principal James Vowles said the contact caused “extensive damage.”
Vowles said the damage affected the front and rear corners and potentially the floor, front wing and suspension.
Some reports said the impact caused “heavy damage down the entire left-hand side” of Albon’s car; other reports said the car sustained heavy damage to the right side and rear (sources conflict on which side was most affected).
Albon’s Williams sustained heavy damage and had to be recovered from the track; track officials cleaned the circuit before on-track activity could resume.
The incident deprived Albon and Williams of crucial running and testing time ahead of sprint qualifying later the same day, including preventing a planned soft-tyre run and complicating setup and tyre work for the sprint weekend.
Williams said the collision caused immediate sporting impact (lost session time and setup work) and created mechanical uncertainty about the car.
The team will need to carry out urgent repair work on the FW48 to prepare the car for the remainder of the weekend.
Replays of Albon’s collision were not carried on the official world feed but circulated widely on social media.
Vowles described the episode as frustrating, said encounters with marmots have happened previously at the circuit and called such wildlife encounters “one of the risks of this circuit.”
Vowles recounted Albon’s mother joking she feared he’d have to “pay to adopt a family of marmots.”
Albon had set the ninth-fastest time earlier in the FP1 session and was frustrated because he had been quick and badly needed the running.
